Gear-cutting machine.



No. 638,2l6. Patented Dec. 5, I899.

J. S. COPELAND.

: GEAR CUTTING MACHINE.

(Applibation filed Apr. 12, 1899.)

Witness es 3 3 fiw'entarr {No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet m: Nonms PETERS 00v. moioumou WASHINGTON n. c.

Patented Dec. 5, I899.

J.'S. COPELAND.

GEAR CUTTlNG MACHINE.

(Applicubioq filed Apr. 12, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

V //H Ki it asses:

No. 638,2l6. Patented Dc. '5, i899. J. s. COPELAND.

GEAR CUTTING MACHINE.

(Application fi1ed,Apr. 12, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

inventor;

llnrrnn STATES PATENT l l FFTQE.

JAMES S. COPELAND, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE POPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND PORTLAND, MAINE.

GEAR-CUTTING MACHINE.

s ecimen-101w forming part of Letters Patent No. 638.216, dated December 5, 1899.

Application filed April 12, 1899. Serial No. 712,689. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: main parts of the machine are shown as Be it known that 1, JAMES S. COPELAND, a mounted in a horizontal position on asuitable citizen of the United States, and a resident of bed 1, and in this form the bearings 2 3 support the city and county of Hartford, State of Conthe cutter-operating mechanism and the bear- 5 necticut, have invented certain new and useing 4 supports a workholding shaft 5. This ful Improvements in Gear-Cutting Machines, shaft 5 is mounted within a sleeve 6, which has of which the following is a full, clear, and exa shoulder at one end in contact with the end act description, whereby any one skilled in o the bearing land projects beyond the bearthe art can make and use the same. ing at the other end, where the huh 7 of the '1 My invention relates to the class of geararm 8 is attached to the sleeve, as by means cutting machines in which the teeth of gears of a key 9, so that a rotary movement imare cut or formed by moving elements which parted to the hub 7 is communicated to the simulate the movement of interengaged teeth sleeve. Against the outer surface of the hub of the gears in actual operation as part of 7 an index-plate 10 is located, this plate be- 5 moving mechanisms; and the object of my ining keyed to the shaft 5, so that a rotary movevention is to provide a machine of this class ment imparted to the plate will be communiwhich shall be more especiallyadapted to cut cated to the work-holding shaft 5. that class of gear-teeth which are used in con- On the frontend of the shaft 5 a clam p is pro nection with a pingear, so called, or a gear vided for holding a blank 12, and this clamp is 20 in which one of the interengaging pair has of any desired form. The outer end of the teeth formed in the shape of projecting pins arm'S is provided with a curved rack 13, the and. known either as a pin-gear or lanteeth of which are in mesh with a segmental tern-gear, with the object of obtaining greatgear 14, which is secured to the rotary cutterest possible uniformity of teeth out, which I" carrier 15 mounted in the bearings 2 3. This 5 do by minimizing the number of cutters used. cutter-carrier is rotated by means of the worm- To this end my invention consists in the gear 16, fast to the carrier and in mesh with a combination of the several parts making up worm on the driving-shaft 17. the gear-cutting machine as a whole and in A rotary cutter-spindle 18 is eccentrically the combination of the parts, as hereinafter mounted in the carrier 15, with a gear 19, fast 30 described, and more particularly pointed out' to the spindle, in mesh with the internal gear in the claims. 20, fast to or formed on the inner face of the Referring to the drawings, Figurel isaplan pulley 21. This pulley is driven from any view of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a suitable source of power and through the view in front elevation of the machine. Fig. medium of the intermeshing gear-wheels 19 35 3 is a plan view of the bedof the machine, and 20 drives the cutter 22, which is firmly showing some parts in horizontal section to secu redin the front end of the cutter-spindle. disclose the construction. Fig. 4 is a View in This construction of cutter and cutter-spindle elevation of the machine, looking from the provides an extremely firm bearing for the i. right, as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail cutter, which will effectually withstand se- 40 view, on enlarged scale, showing details of vere usage necessitated in this class of mathe indexing mechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail chines and this by reason of the large diamview, on enlarged scale, showing parts of the eter of the cutter-spindle as compared with indexing mechanism in section. Fig. 7 is a the diameter of the cutter. detail View, on enlarged scale, illustrating the On the driving-shaft 17 two pulleys 23 and 9 45 operation of the cutter in forming the gear. 24 are loosely mounted, and they are driven Fig. 8 is an edge view of a blank, showing the in opposite directions by belts from a counterspaces between the teeth as formed by the shaft. A clutch member 25, keyed to the cutter. Fig. 9 is a detail view showing the driving-shaft 17, has the usual sliding movemanner of gearing up the cutter-driving mechment between the clutch member fast to the :00 5o anism. opposite pulleys, and this movement is im- In the accompanyings drawings the several parted automatically by the slide 26, a forked arm 27, projecting from the slide, engaging a peripheral groovein the clutch member. The slide 26 is moved by the arm 15, fast to and turning with the carrier 15, the arm having suitable cams for engaging a pin on the arm of the slide held in the path of movement of the cams. I

The shaft 17 drives a cross-shaft 28 through the medium of intermeshing gears 29 and 30, and this in turn drives the cam-shaft 31 through the intermeshing gears 32 and 33. The cam 34 on the cam-shaft 31 actuates the index-plate 10. A roller 35 on the lower end of a reciprocating plunger 36 rests on the cam, and the upper end of the plunger is connected to the slotted arm of a lever 37 by means of a pin 38, extending into the slot in the lever. The hub of the lever is mounted on a ratchet-wheel 39 and carries a springpawl 40, which is arranged to engage the teeth of the ratchet which is fast to the shaft 5. The downward movement of the plunger 36 causes the pawl of the ratchet device to move back along the ratchet-teeth, and a reverse or upward movement of the plunger causes the shaft 5 to be turned. The indexplate has a series of sockets 41, and an index bolt 42, mounted in a socket in the hub 7 of the arm 8, is adapted to engage the sockets 41. The index-bolt is held against rotation, as by means of a screw 43, extending through the hub and into a slot in the bolt, as shown in Fig. (5, and the rear end of the bolt extending from the hub bears a pin 44:, located in the path of movement of a cam 45, mounted on the bearing 4. The index-bolt is held at the forward limit of its play by means of a spring located in the socket in the usual manner.

The cutter 22 has a shank 22, fitting a socket in the end of the cutter-spindle 18. The cutter-spindle oscillates in a circular path owing to its eccentric position in the rotary carrier 15, and the cutter is driven at the same time at cutting speed.

The blank 12 is clamped on the shaft 5 and rocks slowly at a speed timed with reference to the oscillatory movement of the cutterspindle, and as the latter passes across the periphery of the blank a cut is made in the edge of the blank presented to the cutter in form, size, and position corresponding to a space between adjacent teeth of a gear, which will mesh with a pin of a gear corresponding with the cutter used.

When the machine is in position to begin the operation of cutting a space in a blank, the cutter 22 is out of contact with the blank 12 and at one end of its oscillatory path and the index-plate is locked to the hub of the arm 8, so that as the connected mechanisms are caused to operate the cutter moves into cutting contact with the blank by the move ment of the carrier 15 imparted to it by the driving-shaft 17 through the medium of the Worm and worm-gear 16 when the clutch 25 is in engagement with the pulley 23. At the same timethe arm 8,1ocked to the indexse m plate, which is fast to the shaft 5, is rocked by the segmental gear 14 in mesh with the rack 13 on the arm 8 and a slow rocking movement imparted to the blank while the cutter is operating to form a space between two teeth on the blank. After the cutter has swung clear of the blank 12 the arm 15 on the carrier engages the shifter-slide 26 and reverses the motion of the shaft 17 by engaging the clutch 25 with the pulley 24. This reverses the feed motion, thus rocking both the carrier and blank-holder back to an initial position, when the cutter is then clear of the blank 12. At this time the pin 44 on the projecting end of the index-bolt 12 engages the trip-cam on the bearing 4. and unlocks the index-plate. If desired, the mechanism may be arranged to index after each series of movements, each series of which may consist of any predetermined number of movements of the cuttercarrier. During the cutting operation the cam 34 has been moved by the described mechanism until the projecting part 3% strikes the roll on the plunger and lifts the latter, which moves the lever 37 and causes the index-plate to move, thereby timing the shaft 5 and the blank 12 one step in their intermittent movement of indexing. When the index-plate is locked in its new position and the blank turned to present an uncut part of its surface to the cutter, the clutch member 25 is operated by the means described to reverse the direction of rotation of the driving-shaft l7, and this causes the cutter to make a return oscillation in a path to again bring the cutter into cutting contact With the blank 12 and shapes an other tooth. The rocking movement of the blank is of course also reversed in direction to correspond to the reverse movement of the cutter in its oscillation.

By the use of a single cutter, as described, or even if a few cutters were used, each space being cut by the identical tool, a much more uniform product is obtained than where there is a cutter representing each pin or tooth of the gear to mesh with the gear to be cut, as each additional cutter increases the uncertaintyof uniform spaces in the resulting product.

I claim as my invention 1. In combination in a gear-cutting ma chine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported within a spindle, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cuttercarrier and rotatable independently of the cutter-carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an aXis substantially parallel with the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank holder rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to efiect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, and means for driving said cutter.

2. In combination in a gear-putting ma chine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported within a spindle, the spindle of larger diameter of bearing-surface than the cutter and eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of the cutter-carrier and rotatable independently of said carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank-holder rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to effect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, and means for driving said cutter.

3. In combination in a gear-cutting machine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported Within a spindle, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cuttercarrier and rotatable independently of said carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable, a blank-holder rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to effect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, means for driving said cutter, an indexing mechanism to change the relative position of a point on the periphery of the blank-holder and the cutter, and means for effecting such change by means dependent upon the rocking mechanism of said carrier or blank-holder.

4:. In combination in a gear-cutting machine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported within a spindle, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cutter-' carrier and rotatable independently of said carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an axis substantially parallel With the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank-holder having its axis arranged at an angle with the axis of the cutter and rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to effect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, and means for driving said cutter.

5. In combination in a gear-cutting machine, a milling-cutter having a straight elemented cutting-surface and supported within a spindle, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cutter-carrier and rotatable independently of said carrier,

the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank-holder having its axis arranged at an angle with the axis of the cutter and rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to effect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, and means for driving said cutter.

6. In combination in a gear-cutting machine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported Within a spindle rotatable in bearings within a cutter carrier, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cuttercarrier and rotatable independently of said carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank-holder rotatable in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to elfect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, and means for driving said cutter.

7. In combination in a gear-cutting ma? chine, a cylindrical milling-cutter supported within a spindle, the spindle eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of a cuttercarrier and rotatable independently of said carrier, the cutter-carrier partially rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of the cutter-spindle, a blank-holder rotatable about an axis in a fixed ratio with the rotation of the cutter-carrier, means to effect and control dependent rocking movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier, means for driving said cutter, and means for stopping the rocking feeding movement of the blank-holder and cutter-carrier in one direction when the milling-cutter has swung clear of the blank,

JAMES S. COPELAND.

Witnesses:

BRAYTON S. LEWIS, HERMANN F. OUNrzt 

